A Dangerous Escalation in the East China Sea

China and Japan must act now to prevent a worsening territorial dispute from ending in armed conflict.

By

Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt

Jan. 4, 2013 6:13 p.m. ET

The territorial dispute in the East China Sea between the world's second- and third-largest economies entered a disturbing new phase last month with the first direct involvement of military forces. On Dec. 13, Japan sent eight F-15 fighter jets after a small Chinese propeller plane that flew over the disputed Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu in China. According to Japan, this was the first Chinese intrusion into its airspace since 1958.

There is far more at stake here than a small cluster of islands. Crisis mitigation...